Just Like Magic (George Weasley)

Twenty-Eight.

People started to clear out quickly. The Death Eaters came and trashed the place once they realized Harry wasn't there and then they left. I didn't see any Death Eater that I recognized, not even from the papers.
   
We helped clean up, and we wanted to go home after, but Mrs. Weasley begged us to stay one more night so she knew we were safe. So we ended up staying for her sake. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were gone. We assumed they all left together, since they were planning on leaving anyways. Mrs. Weasley was worried about them, we all were.
   
George was kind of shaken about what happened tonight, so he asked me to stay with him. I did. I was shaken too. That was the first time I've ever experienced Death Eaters up close like that.  So I was glad to cuddle up to my boyfriend and fall asleep in his arms. I was happy no one got hurt tonight, and I was glad my brother wasn't here, and that he was at his home. He would have been so scared.
   
The next morning, Mrs. Weasley made breakfast and then we went home. After Harry left and took Ronand Hermione with him, it got even more dangerous for us. I started work at the Ministry, but quickly realized that's not where I wanted to be. It's gotten dangerous there, but I was with Tonks most of the time so it wasn't all that bad.
   
At the end of the month, we found out that Severus Snape was going to be the new Headmaster of Hogwarts. It made me sick to my stomach. Attendance has become mandatory, and if you're a Muggle Born you have to prove you have magic somewhere in your family tree.
   
I was glad Joshua had magic in his family even though his father is a Squib he had family members that could do magic, so he would be okay. For other students, like Ginny's ex Dean Thomas and that Gryffindor kid named Colin Creevy that followed everyone around with a camera to show his parents what the Magic world was like, they weren't so lucky. 
   
On September 1st, George and I took Joshua to King's Cross station. I was very sad to see him go. I didn't know what kind of Hogwarts he was going off to, and it certainly wasn't going to be like the one he's been used to. I was worried about him.
   
"I'm going to miss you, kid," I tell him, gripping him into a long hug. 
   
"I'm going to miss you, too," he admits to me as we hug. 
   
"Now, you be good, and don't mouth off to any teachers or punch any kids in the face."
   
He rolls his eyes at me, "That was one time, Penelope, and he  deserved it."
   
I pulled him in for one more quick hug before I let him go again. George gives him a quick hug, wishes him good luck, and they fist bump before he boards the train with Ginny by his side. George drapes an arm around my shoulders as we watch the train take off.

I have a bad feeling while we watch the train slide out of view. I was so worried about Joshua and Ginny. I hated feeling like this. I didn't like seeing them off this time. Hogwarts is supposed to be happy and fun, I shouldn't be so scared to know my brother is going there. 
   
Tonks told me that going to work was no longer safe. So I couldn't be an Auror anymore. Well, I could, but she'd have to train me outside of the Ministry. It would be harder but it would be very educational. It would be fun too.
   
The next time I saw Tonks, it was at an Order meeting the twins held in their shop after hours. She showed up alone without her husband. When I asked her where he was she said he left after she told him she was pregnant, and she hasn't seen him in a few days. That he went mental, talking about how he shouldn't be a father. That he had cursed her and our family. And then he just left and she hasn't seen or heard from him since.
   
I was so upset. She was already under so much stress right now. I have never been so disappointed in Remus, but I guess it wouldn't be the first child that needed him that he abandoned after he said he wouldn't. I made sure to give her a big hug after the meeting. I could tell she needed it right now.
   
Our meeting we talked about Harry, and his friends, and possibilities of where they could be and what they're doing. I told them what I knew. That last year Harry got very close to Dumbledore and that they would have private lessons together, and that Harry needed to retrieve a memory from Professor Slughorn, but that was all that I knew. It wasn't much to go off of, but they figured that it had to do something with Voldemort. What exactly we didn't know.
   
I received a letter from Joshua after about two weeks of him being at school. He told me all about life at Hogwarts, because I asked him to keep me updated. Snape hired two Death Eaters to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies professors. He didn't say so, but I knew he was scared about this because of what Death Eaters did to his family during the first War.
   
He said that Neville was kind of like the Ringleader of Gryffindor House now, and that he's making sure everyone is happy and safe. I guess the Carrows can be pretty tough on the students so he's been making sure everyone is alright.
   
I was less worried, but also now more worried, about him. Death Eaters were working at Hogwarts. Death Eaters killed his family. They could target him, get it from him where his dad was, and finish him off. His father was no longer safe. I had to ask him not to write to me again unless it was important, because I didn't want to raise suspicion.
   
By the time we had another meeting, I shared what I knew about Hogwarts life and who the new Professors were. Remus was back, and he was here with Tonks. They must have made up. I was glad he came to his senses.
   
Lee Jordan started a radio show called Potterwatch where he gave updates on Death Eaters and Voldemort and of course on Harry Potter. Of course no one had any true updates on Harry. We didn't know where he was or what he was doing or anything. When Remus found them, they were at Grimmauld Place, but they have since left.
   
I basically haven't left the flat above the shop since September, and it's nearly Christmas now. I've gone to visit my grandparents but other than that I don't go anywhere. They've heard from dad twice in the months he's been gone. I was just glad he was okay.
   
When George and I picked up Joshua, he was covered in bruises, and most of them were on his face. Of course I was upset about this, and I asked him what happened and he said he got detention from his new professors because he didn't like what they were saying about Muggle born students. He said he didn't mouth off, just simply said he didn't agree and then he was given detention.
   
Bill and Fleur decided to have their first Christmas as a married couple between the two of them, so they didn't come home to the Burrow. George and I spent the first part of the day with my grandparents, my brother, and his dad.
   
When our grandmother was cooking dinner, Joshua's dad made him tell George and I something. Joshua didn't want to talk, but his dad made him. He was visibly upset as he spoke. "I'm being followed around at school."
   
"What?" I ask him, "By who? The Carrows?"
   
"No, by that kid who is friends with Draco Malfoy. The fat one with the stupid name. Crabbe."
   
"That doesn't make any sense, kid, why would Crabbe be following you?" 
   
He shrugs his shoulders, "Sometimes he doesn't do anything, sometimes he pushes me, knocks my books down, but recently he's started using the Cruciatus Curse on me. Randomly, too. I'll be walking in the halls and then all the sudden there he is laughing while I'm in pain."
   
"What?!" I shriek. Angry wasn't the word I would use to describe how I was feeling. Livid, down right furious, was more like it. "I don't understand it. Why is he targeting you?" 
   
"Well, one time, he said, 'This is for your sister. She was a traitor to Slytherin House.' and then laughed like mad."
   
"Awe, kid, I'm so sorry," I say, my heart has fallen into my stomach. I felt sick.
   
Joshua just shakes it off like it's not a big deal, "It's not your fault, Penelope, Crabbe is a maniac."
   
"This isn't okay, kid," says George, "You're so young. You're still growing. If the Cruciatus Curse is used on you for long enough it could affect your brain. It drove Neville's parents insane. They're in St. Mungo's for the rest of their lives because of the Cruciatus Curse."
   
I didn't even know that. I knew Neville lived with and was raised by his grandmother but I didn't know that about his parents. I figured they were just dead.
   
"I don't want to talk about this anymore." says Joshua, his tone hard, and he stands up and walks into the kitchen. 
   
I look to his dad, "When I take him back to King's Cross Station I will talk to Neville and ask him to keep an eye on Joshua, and we'll ask Ginny the same thing when we visit George's family tonight."
   
"Thank you," he says, nodding.
   
We ate dinner with my family, and we made it to The Burrow in time for dessert. Then it was time for presents. Mrs. Weasley handed George and I our custom made Weasley family jumpers and then George gave me his gift for me.
   
"If everyone could give me your attention for a moment, I promise this won't take long. I just want to give my girlfriend her Christmas gift."
   
He pauses for a moment, allowing everyone to look our way. "Penelope, you know that I love you with all of my heart, and when I picture my future you're the one I see me sharing it with. And I don't want to share my life with anybody else. So this Christmas I have a question to ask you."
   
He reaches into his inside suit jacket pocket and gets down on one knee in front of me, and his family, with a big smile on his face. "Will you marry me, Penelope Black?"
   
I am lost for words. I certainly wasn't expecting this. It was just so fast for us, right? We've only been together for two and a half years. That's honestly not a lot of time, and we've been living together for six months. I'm not sure if I want to get married just yet, but how could I say that without breaking his heart in half? I can't. Especially not in front of his family.
   
I put on my best smile I could, and I said, "Yes. Yes, George I will marry you."
   
He smiles as he slides the ring onto my finger and then he stands and pulls me into a kiss on the lips, and his family starts clapping and cheering around us. My heart is pounding. I just said yes to an engagement that I'm not ready for because I felt like I had to. He did this on purpose, so I wouldn't say no. I had to talk to him about this.

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Here's part 28!

There's about to be some DRAMA!!

You can bet your ass there will be drama coming up!

-Emily Winchester.